ELLIOTT COULD BE THE DIFFERENCE AGAINST THE CHIEFS

Jake Elliott's long boots could make the difference for the Eagles against the Chiefs. Photo by Andy Lewis.

If the Eagles want to come to Arrowhead Stadium and grab a win over a wounded Kansas City Chiefs team they will need to take advantage of the things they can control.

Pre-snap or unsportsmanlike penalties are the no-brainers this week.

One thing they need to keep going is Special Teams.

Last week, the Birds kept Dallas Cowboys returner KaVontae Turpinin in check with great tackling and strategic kicking.

Eagles punter Brandon Mann was on the money all afternoon in the Eagles season opener.

The Eagles (1-0) need all these thing to happen Sunday afternoon at 4:25 PM (FOX: Kevin Burkhardt, Tom Brady) against the Chiefs (0-1)who will be playing with their hair on fire in an effort to avoid an 0-2 start.

Perhaps the biggest weapon the Birds will bring with them to City of Fountains is Jake Elliott.

Last season, Elliott struggled with long field goals, going 0-for-4 from 50-plus yards. This included misses from 44 and 51 yards in a game against the Washington Commanders late in the season.

Nick Sirianni (left) says he has seen Jordan Davis step up in practice. Photo by Andy Lewis.

Eagles made a change at long snapper after the 2024 season, moving on from Rick Lovato who had been with the team since 2016. He made a Pro Bowl after the 2019 season.

Lovato was ultimately replaced by Charley Hughlett, who was signed on March 14, 2025.

Hughlett signed a one-year contract with the Birds.

The changes seemed to work, Elliott kicked four field goals, including one from 53 yards, in the Eagles' 2025 preseason finale against the New York Jets on August 22, 2025.

After the game, Elliott was asked about his improvement.

“I felt like I was striking the ball well all offseason, all summer...had a really good camp,” Elliott said. “I think I'm hitting the ball well.

“It's always good the get as many reps as you can,” Elliott continued. “Getting as many opportunities and as many operations as possible. It's always a good feeling

The nine-year veteran out of Memphis continued is restored foot power against Dallas.

Elliott's 58-yard bomb in the third quarter on September 4, against the Cowboys put the Birds up 24-20 and ended up the only score of the second half.

Last Tuesday, Special Teams Coordinator Michael Clay was asked how important it was for Elliott to hit a long field goal in week one.

“I don't know the importance for Jake and himself, but importance for our team to push that to a four-point game,” Clay said. “But obviously it always starts with the operation, then to the protection and Jake has been having a really good camp, good preseason, in that Jets game having two 50-plus yard field goals and to go out there to put us up at a four-point game was awesome to see. I know who Jake Elliott is.

“Hopefully everybody else knows who Jake Elliott is. He's a hell of a kicker and it's great for him to see that go through the uprights pretty straight and )punter) Braden (Mann) pretty much called it pretty early that the ball went in, so awesome to see.”

After missing last week's game against Dallas, Jordan Davis will make his season debut against the Chiefs on Sunday. Photo by Andy Lewis

SIRIANNI ON JORDAN DAVIS AND OTHER STUFF

Sunday will be the season debut of Eagles All Pro defensive tackle Jordan Davis. Unless you just came back from a vacation on Mars, you know the story...Carter was suckered into a spitting incident with Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott before the first snap of the game.

Carter was tossed from the game and fined a game check (about $56,000).

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was asked what he has seen from Carter this week in practice.

“Just hard work and going through the meetings and walk-throughs and practice with the intent of just going and playing his best game,” Sirinni said at Friday's press conference. “We always talk about how practice is a good indicator of what the game will be like, and he's had a good week.

“We've talked a lot about embracing adversity this week and being able to be focused on the task at hand. That's what I've seen, and I'm excited that he will be out there playing with us.”

Sirianni was asked to talk about the two new players the Eagles signed this week. Edge rusher Za’Darius Smith and running back Tank Bigsby. Will they see any action this week with only two days of practice?

“We’ll see, but their coaches, Za’Darius, and Tank have done a really good job of putting in the extra work to make sure they know what's going on,” he said. “The easiest way to give up a big play on defense, and vice versa on offense, is to not be on the same page.

“So, those guys have worked hard. Their position coaches, Jemal Singleton, and Jeremiah Washburn, have done a really good job of catching them up. We'll see where they are.

“We have another day of practice and another day of meetings before we get into anything, but I'm really pleased with how hard they've worked to get themselves caught up. That's always a challenge at this time. Like I said, there's never a handbook to say, ‘This is when a guy's ready.’ You go through practice, you see if he is, and then you make a decision from there.”

Sirianni was asked about the difficulty of playing in Arrowhead Stadium.

“First of all, that’s a really good football team with really good players,” Sirianni said. “Obviously, they are very well coached. Then, it's a loud atmosphere. I know they take a lot of pride in it being loud, and it is loud.

“Handling adversity is not just bad things that happen, it's putting yourself in situations-- We try to do this at practice, loud situations and practice and making yourself uncomfortable, so you can be as comfortable as you can when you get into these moments.

“Communication will be key. I'm probably saying something that everybody says when they go in there and play, and what they say when they come in here and play.

"That communication will be key, and handling adversities will be key, and that's the key to go in there and be on the same page through the chaos.”

Email Al Thompson at al.thompson@footballstories.com.